(1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a packaging machine and a method for producing packages by packaging articles to be packed in packagings in which the machine has at least one processing station such as a sealing station, a cutting station or the like and having a weighing station for weight determination of the filled and sealed packages as well as a method for determining the weight of filled and sealed packages by synchronizing the working speed of an upstream processing station, a sealing station or the like.
(2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
Commercially available packaging machines of this type are provided with different processing stations, for example sealing stations, for sealing packagings which are filled with articles to be packed.
Here, a distinction is made between a plurality of types of packaging machines, for example those which seal individual packagings which are separated from one another and are filled with articles to be packed (what are known as tray sealers) and packaging machines, such as thermoforming machines, in which a plurality of packages are produced, filled and sealed together. In the latter machine type, the said plurality of contiguous packages are subsequently fed to a cutting unit which cuts the individual packages from the overall assembly. In packaging machines of the abovementioned type, the sealed packages are discharged via a discharge unit.
Depending on the type of article to be packed, weight determination and labeling are subsequently required. For this purpose, corresponding weighing and labeling machines have previously been provided which are arranged behind the discharge unit. These weighing and labeling machines operate independently of the packaging machine, with the result that a separating unit has to be arranged between the two machines for supplying the weighing and labeling apparatuses with individual packages. In order to perform the weighing and labeling independently of the discharge from the packaging machine, a buffer unit is also frequently provided for receiving packages before their separation for the weighing and labeling machines.
As a result of this procedure, a long transport path is required for the overall construction, which is associated with a corresponding space requirement. Moreover, the operating personnel have to set and monitor the two machines separately from one another on different input units.
Furthermore, hand-actuated machines have gained awareness in the commercial field, in which shells which are filled with articles to be packed are inserted into a drawer-like shell receptacle and are weighed by a weighing unit which is integrated into the draw. The filled shells are inserted manually, the weighing station being reset manually to the zero value after the insertion of each individual shell. The drawer-like receptacle is subsequently pushed into the machine and the shells are sealed. After the slide-in unit has been opened again, individual labels having weight specifications are printed out by the machines, which labels are applied manually to the associated sealed packages. In a manual machine of this type, the abovementioned disadvantageous, long transport path is dispensed with. However, the said manual machine does not make automatic packaging of the articles to be packed possible and is susceptible, in particular, to errors of the operating person, as firstly open packages are weighed and the labels have to be assigned manually after sealing. Moreover, satisfactory weighing with a movable weighing unit can be ensured only with difficulty.